


A Nearly Exciting Night

by to_the_revolution



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Best Friends, Courferre Week, Fluff, Fluffy Courferre, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-16
Updated: 2016-08-16
Packaged: 2018-08-09 03:33:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7785130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/to_the_revolution/pseuds/to_the_revolution
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Courfeyrac discovers that sneaking out at night might not be the worst idea he has had.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Nearly Exciting Night

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, that's my first post on here. This fic was originally written for Courferre Week 2016 and was posted on my tumblr blog - seethenewdaydawn.tumblr.com

Courfeyrac never expected to find himself sneaking into the library at midnight but he had promised Enjolras to lend him _Wizarding Law through the years, first edition,_ and he had completely forgotten about it. Since he didn’t own the book himself like any other reasonable wizard (for the record, he did think he had it), he had to acquire it in another way. There was no time to purchase it from Flourish and Blotts and wait a week until it arrived with their fastest owl, so he was left with only one option. Of course, he had snuck out at night before but he was never alone. And he had to admit he wasn’t the best when it came to hiding from Mr Filch and his terrible cat. 

Luckily the library was on the first floor so it took him only fifteen minutes to reach it without getting caught. In moments like this, he was thankful that Peeves considered him a friend because, had he not been on his good side, he would have stumbled upon the caretaker meters away from the door to the Common Room. The poltergeist had drawn his attention just in time to save Courfeyrac from a week worth of cleaning his office. Just as he reached for the library door, he realised that he hadn’t taken a lantern and his task of finding a certain book amongst thousands of others started to look much more intimidating than before when he was thinking of a plan in his bed. The prospect of going back and then sneaking out again was not the most appealing so he decided to stay and try to do with the moonlight by the windows. 

He opened the door slowly, careful as to not make a noise and give away his presence. The smell of books engulfed him and his thoughts immediately jumped to Combeferre. This was one of his friend’s favourite places in the castle. He loved to browse the books in search of something new and exciting to read. In that moment, he wished he was there with him for he would have known exactly where _Wizarding Law_  would be, unlike Courfeyrac who had no idea. It seemed it was going to be a long night.

The Hufflepuff decided to start from the shelves on the left side and make his way from there. The first section was Magical Creatures and he passed by it quickly, doubting that somebody would consider law a creature despite the fact that a certain resemblance could be found. Next were the sections on Dangerous Magical Beasts and Magical Plants. Courfeyrac kept walking between the shelves until he reached the ones with books on Potions. He stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a sudden noise. It was a loud thump coming from somewhere in front of him. The first thought that crossed his mind was that Mrs Norris was there and she had accidentally knocked down a book, but he couldn’t remember hearing the door open. After a few seconds, which he spent frozen in his spot, barely breathing and trying to hear something else, he gathered the courage to peek out from behind the shelf. Much to his surprise, there was no cat on the other side. Instead, there was a student sitting in a chair with his head resting on a desk covered in books and various parchments. It took Courfeyrac less than a second to realise that the person in front of him was Combeferre who had fallen asleep while studying. His arm was dangling by his side and on the floor underneath was the book that had produced the sound. With a few quick steps he reached the reading area and carefully shook his friend’s shoulder. 

“Ferre, wake up. Ferre. Hey, wake up,” he whispered. 

Combeferre slowly opened his eyes and gave out a confused murmur. 

“What time is it?” he asked while yawning which made the question sound more like “Wo ta iz it”. 

“It’s half past twelve, Ferre. What are you doing here?”

“Courf?” the Ravenclaw said. It seemed that it was just now he noticed it was his friend talking to him. 

“Yes, it’s me. So what are you doing here for Merlin’s sake? Have you been studying again?”

“I had to, Courf. The NEWTs are in two months, there is so much revision that I haven’t even started on yet. I’ve only covered Transfiguration and Potions,” he stopped in the middle of the sentence so he could yawn again, “and I need to get at least Outstanding in all subjects.”

“You already have Exceeds Expectations in all subjects, you are basically a professor already. Why do you keep doing this to yourself?” Courfeyrac said in exasperation, “Helga Hufflepuff is my witness, these tests are pure evil. Even the name says it, Ferre, it’s Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests, not Nearly Exciting Wizarding Tests. You really need to stop worrying so much. It’s bad for you.”

“Alright, Courf, I’ll think about it in the morning. Now it would be best to go back to our dormitories, don’t you think?” 

Before Courfeyrac could answer, his friend started talking again.

“Actually, what are you doing here? Why are you in the library at midnight?” the Ravenclaw looked more awake. He started sorting the books and parchments from the desk into piles. 

“Oh, umm, you see, I promised Enj to give him a book and I couldn’t find it so I had to come here and see if there’s a copy of it. He will kill me if I don’t give it to him, he’s been waiting for two weeks.”

“Why didn’t you come earlier then? You’ve had two weeks.”

“Well, yeah, I had time but I kept forgetting. It’s not my fault that I have more important stuff to do. _Wizarding Law_ was not exactly a top priority on my list.”

Courfeyrac helped his friend gather his belongings. He collected the book from the ground and looked at its cover. He couldn’t see much since the windows were hidden behind rows of bookshelves, but there was a strange sweet smell coming from it and he lifted it up to his face for a closer examination. **LOVE POTIONS AND SPELLS. THE SUREST WAY TO YOUR BELOVED’S HEART**  was written in big red letters on the front. Under them was a drawing of a potion brewing in a cauldron, heart-shaped bubbles floating on its surface.

“Why do you have this b-" Courfeyrac didn’t get the chance to finish his question before his friend snatched the book from his hands.

“I, uhh, I’m doing a research. I wanted to check something. Yeah, for the research.” 

Combeferre sounded more nervous than usual. He quickly shoved the book into his bag and covered it with a stack of parchments. 

“Come on, let’s find Wizarding _Law._ We shouldn’t stay here for too long.” Courfeyrac changed the topic. 

“No need for that, actually. I have a copy in my room. I can give it to you in the morning, before breakfast.”

“You do? That’s great, Ferre! But why can’t we go get it now? Enj wants to meet before breakfast and I’ll need the book then. I’ll come with you to Ravenclaw tower.” 

“Okay. That’s fine but you know that you risk Mr Filch seeing you wandering around the castle? If you come, it will take longer and you can get caught.” 

“Don’t worry, Ferre. Let’s go.”

Courfeyrac didn’t know exactly what made him propose the idea of going to the tower. He could have said that he would wake up earlier in the morning, but he didn’t. He had a suspision that the sudden and quite irrational decision had been influenced by his instincts - to stay in the company of his friend for as long as possible. And the suspicion wasn’t groundless either - he could feel his heart racing just at the thought of spending more time alone with him. And the butterflies were hard to ignore too.

The students left the library and made their way to Ravenclaw tower. They didn’t talk out of fear that the caretaker would hear them from the other side of the castle. Courfeyrac spent the entire time thinking about his friend and the feelings he had for him, and he would have given his whole chocolate frog card collection to know what Ferre was thinking. He had noticed the change in his mood and the nervousness that had overcome him. The Hufflepuff tried not to think about the prospect of his crush having a crush on another person. 

The boys has almost reached the last staircase leading to the dormitories when they heard footsteps coming from around the corner. 

“What is it, Mrs Norris? Did you find something?” - Filch’s voice echoed through the empty corridor. 

Courfeyrac and Combeferre stopped dead in their tracks. After exchanging a quick, meaningful look, both of them ran up the stairs as fast and as silent as possible. When they reached the top, they turned left and saw the tower door. 

“Who’s there? Don’t try to hide, you rascal! You’ll be in detention for at least a week!” the old man shouted angrily. 

Courfeyrac and Combeferre were out of breath when they reached the door. On it was nothing except a knocker in the shape of an eagle. It emitted a quiet whisper, as if it knew they were in danger of getting caught. 

THE _ **NAME OF YOUR HEART’S DESIRE IS THE KEY.**_  

In the light coming from the torches hung on the wall, Courfeyrac saw Combeferre’s face go red. They could tell the caretaker was now climbing the stairs by the sound of his heavy steps. 

“Hurry up, Ferre. Can’t you answer the riddle? I don’t want to get caught now. We almost made it, come on.” the Hufflepuff pleaded.

“I,” his friend began, “I don’t know the answer. I need some time to think, Courf.” 

A hiss came from behind them. Mrs Norris had ran ahead of her owner and was now staring at the boys with her evil eyes. 

“You can’t run! When I catch you, I’ll send you directly to the Headmaster and if I have luck, he’ll expell you right away!” Filch was almost at the top of the stairs.

“Ferre!” Courfeyrac’s voice was filled with panic.

He looked over his shoulder. The cat was still standing there, blocking the way. They were trapped.

“Courfeyrac.” The word was spoken so quietly that he almost didn’t hear it. 

“What?” Courfeyrac asked, thinking he was addressing him. 

Before he could say anything else, Combeferre grabbed his hand and shoved him in the Common Room. The door closed just in time for Filch to see his cat standing alone in the corridor. 

“What?” Courfeyrac asked again, “How did you- Oh.” 

His confused expression turned to one of amazement. 

“Merlin’s beard! The riddle. Ferre, was that the answer?” he stammered, “how? I can’t believe it. Wait, I probably heard that wrong.” 

“No, Courf, you didn’t.” 

Combeferre’s face turned even redder and the nervous expression appeared again. 

“Does that mean that… you know, you- you…” He couldn’t find the courage to say the words out loud. 

The silence in the empty, dim-lit Common Room was making them feel like they were the only two people in the whole universe. What had happened outside merely moments ago was already forgotten, there was room only for unspoken words and two pairs of eyes staring into each other. 

“I guess I would have had to tell you at some point,” Combeferre began unsurely, “I’ve always loved you as a friend, best friend in fact, but a few months ago I realised there was something more. I’ve thought about it a lot and now I know that it’s true. It’s you, Courf. You are my heart’s desire.

“Please tell me you aren’t joking.”

“Why would I be joking?”

Courfeyrac didn’t answer. Instead, he took a step towards him, then another, and a last one. There were only centimeters separating them.

“Do you know how I would’ve answered if the door had asked me?” Courfeyrac said and a tiny smile appeared on his lips. 

“I think I might know the answer to this question.” 

Now both of them were smiling. They felt how the universe closed around them, the little distance left between them disappearing with the rest of the world. Their smiles melted into one and their fingers easily found their way to each other. 

“So what does this mean?” Courfeyrac asked when they pulled apart, “What are we now? Please tell me we can at least still be friends.”

“Don’t worry, Courf, you’ll always be my best friend,” the Ravenclaw laughed, “And about your other question - what do you say, shall we discuss it over butterbeer at Hogsmeade on Sunday?” 

“I’d love that.”

“Merlin, I almost forgot. Wait a second.” 

“Wait, what? Where are you going, Ferre?” 

Combeferre was already on the stairs and Courfeyrac was left alone in the empty room. He couldn’t help but smile at the thought of what had just happened. It had turned out his crush did have a crush. The good thing - it was him. Joy was bubbling up inside his chest and he felt at peace. The night had turned from uneventful to truly magical.

After a couple of minutes Combeferre returned with something in his hand. 

“Wizarding _Law through the years_.” he stated matter-of-factly. 

Courfeyrac burst out laughing. Now that he had finished his mission - to find the book, he could return to his dormitory and go back to bed. An uneventful night. Almost.


End file.
